It was the final organisers dreamt of before the World Cup started.
The two major host nations of the tournament have made it to the final in Mumbai.
India and Sri Lanka are both terrific outfits and thoroughly deserve their places.
The final will see some great match-ups, most notably arguably the best batsman of all-time against the best bowler.
Sachin Tendulkar and Muttiah Muralitharan have been great servants to the game and both deserve to bow out of World Cup action with a winners' medal.
Murali has a medal from 1996, but if India were to take the crown it would be the cherry on top of a considerably large cake for Sachin.
Tendulkar passed 18,000 ODI runs during the tournament
It would be fitting for him to score his 100th international century in the final, at his home ground in Mumbai, although cricket fans all over the world will pray he doesn't retire after the tournament.
He is in the form of his life and should just keep going, perhaps even making it to the next World Cup in 2015.
The Little Master is a genius in every sense of the word and will surely go down as the best batsman of all-time.
India made it to Mumbai with a superb 29-run win over neighbours Pakistan, a performance which showed their bowling attack can come good when needed.
All five of their bowlers took two wickets each, showing that while there are no superstar bowlers, the group is more than good enough to bowl teams out.
Ashish Nehra was the pick of the bowlers, taking 2-33 from his ten overs, keeping it tight by subduing the Pakistan batsmen.
Misbah-ul-Haq's 56 from 76 deliveries summed up the innings.
He was strangely quiet, unable to hit boundaries for a large part of his innings, largely due to the excellent control shown by the Indian bowlers.
Misbah is being heavily criticised in Pakistan for his slow innings, but in truth without him they would have been embarassed with an 80 or 90-run defeat.
Pakistan's fielders should be taking a much bigger portion of the blame.
Tendulkar was dropped four times on his way to 85, with the fielders showing a clear lack of concentration on the big stage.
Three of the catches were pretty simple and these sort of drops are inexcusable at this level.
One thing you can't do with the Little Master is give him chances, because he will punish you every time.
He wasn't at his brilliant best, which is why Pakistan got four clear chances to get him out, but still ended as the top run-scorer of the match and as man-of-the-match.
The great thing about him is that this innings will be forgotten about when it comes to the final, and fans can expect to see him at his imperious best again then.
Pakistan's main bowler, Umar Gul, was nowhere near his best either.
The fact he only bowled eight out of his ten overs shows just how off-form he was.
He took 0-69 from those overs, just never getting his line and length right.
He was punished to the maximum for his display, as he seemed to freeze on the biggest of stages, with an estimated one billion people watching the game worldwide.
Shahid Afridi was also wicketless as Pakistan's big performers let them down.
Riaz shows his delight after completing his five-wicket haul
Wahab Riaz took a brilliant 5-46, but India's total of 260 always looked enough and so it proved.
Pakistan never got near the required rate and were put out of their misery when bowled out for 231.
As for Sri Lanka's five-wicket win over New Zealand, it was the Kiwis' batting which let them down.
They collapsed from 192-4 to 217 all out, and seem to have no chance when Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor don't fire.
Sri Lanka also suffered a similar collapse, from 160-1 to 185-5, but edged over the line.
They have perhaps the best all-round team of anybody in the world, with their batting and bowling line-ups striking fear into any opposition.
Lasith Malinga, Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan all offer something totally different and out of the ordinary with the ball, while the likes of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene are all among the best in the world.
They are a truly stunning outfit and that is what makes this final so fascinating.
India's home advantage will make them favourites, but Sri Lanka should not be written off as they are an excellent side.
So much will rest on the toss and whether Sri Lanka can make early in-roads to silence the crowd.
Two legends will go head-to-head in Mumbai and both deserve to be on the winning side.
Murali will retire after the World Cup and will be a great loss to cricket, while Tendulkar has not publicly stated any desire to retire in the immediate future.
All cricket fans should hope he carries on regardless of the result as there is nothing better than Sachin in full flow.
He has done wonders to the image of cricket and deserves all the plaudits currently coming his way.
The final is too close to call and it really will be about who has luck on their side on the day.
There can only be one winner, and that will be cricket.
Derek Llambias this week came out and said he and owner Mike Ashley expect Newcastle to compete for a European place every season.
Every fan dreams of European football and therefore should be pleased with Llambias' statement.
But such is the level of discontent and mistrust among Newcastle fans at the moment, every soundbite from the club is viewed with cynicism.
Is this a genuine goal, or is it just an attempt to sell more season tickets?
In truth, Europe should be far from their minds right now.
Newcastle are still in a relegation dogfight and the players and staff must be fully focused on that from here on in.
Talk of Europe can wait until the end of the season when, if Newcastle remain a Premier League team, the optimism can grow.
Stood on 36 points, they are far from safe and probably need two or three wins to secure their status.
If Europe is to be a realistic target, the £35m gained from the Andy Carroll sale must be reinvested in quality players over the summer.
A worthy number nine is badly needed to get fans back on side, and he should preferably be a big-name striker they can really latch onto.
The top players in the current squad - the likes of Cheik Tiote, Jose Enrique, Joey Barton and Fabricio Coloccini - must be retained to ensure Newcastle don't become a stepping stone club where players only have a shelf-life of one or two years.
The bottom line is that the club needs stability.
Ashley and Llambias should have stuck with Chris Hughton, who was doing a fine job on limited resources, had got the fans back on side and allowed the owner to keep a (relatively) low profile.
But Ashley invites bad press with his decision-making.
Cynics say every time things seem to be going well for Newcastle, Ashley makes a decision to destabilise everything and send the club back to square one.
Fans had just begun to digest Alan Pardew's appointment as Hughton's replacement when Ashley sold Andy Carroll.
The club claim Carroll demanded a new contract, but if the club really wanted to keep him, they surely could have stalled those talks until after the transfer window closed.
Other poor choices like stating their desire to rename St James' Park, publicly slate club legend Alan Shearer and almost grafitti the stadium with Sports Direct logos have antaganised fans and made them even more resentful of the current regime.
The fact fans have never heard Ashley's voice has also added to the anger.
The way he and Llambias left Alan Pardew to field all questions in his first press conference was cowardly.
The reasons behind decisions are never made public and there are just no attempts to communicate with fans.
They may claim football is a business but really it is all about the fans, and Newcastle's loyal supporters have been sidelined by the so-called 'Cockney Mafia'.
When Ashley first took over, the fans immediately warmed to him as he had finally led them out of the Freddy Shepherd era.
He sat in the crowds with his Newcastle shirt on and fans thought 'he's one of us'.
The then-chairman, Chris Mort, built up something of a rapport with fans and it seemed like the club actually had a set-up in place to take it forward.
But the whole handling of the Dennis Wise/Kevin Keegan situation, which culminated in the sale of James Milner and signings of Xisco and Nacho Gonzalez (which led to Keegan resigning) broke down the relationship and it has only got more sour since then.
Mort then left and Llambias took over his role, but his nickname, 'Silence of the Llambias', typifies what the fans think of him.
When the club do 'hear' from Llambias, in carefully-prepared press releases, the one constant which comes up is: Mike Ashley has saved and is continuing to save this club.
That may be the case, but the fact is Ashley has to do that to avoid losing money himself.
If Ashley sold Newcastle tomorrow the new owner would have to pay Ashley all of that money back, so he is not really saving the club, he's saving himself.
All fans really want is some sort of interaction with the owner. They want to know the reasons behind decisions.
In truth, some of the policies of the current regime have been successful.
Take the scouting and youth system.
Over the past year or two the club have brought in the likes of Cheik Tiote and Hatem Ben Arfa under the radar and relatively cheaply.
The likes of Nile Ranger, Haris Vuckic, Shane Ferguson and Michael Richardson have been developed by the excellent academy and it seems the club is on a good footing in that department.
But these policies will not be appreciated by fans when they see their hallowed stadium re-named, star players sold and successful managers sacked.
The owner and managing director still do not have a clue about football and relations with fans and they need a football man alongside them to help them out, in the same way Sunderland have Niall Quinn.
The same old problems will arise time and time again unless they bring someone like that in to help.
Someone like a Robert Lee or Les Ferdinand, who the fans know and trust.
That would give a different dimension to the Newcastle boardroom and may lead fans to grow to accept the current regime.
Statements of intent are just not enough for Newcastle fans any more because they have heard it all before.
Until there is stability, there will be no trust.
And until there is stability, there will be no trips to Europe.
Ahead of England's friendly with Ghana tonight, the same old question has been asked, "What's the point?"
To play a friendly three days after after a competitive fixture holds no advantages, it only antagonises clubs.
Fabio Capello will gain very little from the game as his key players are not even playing, leading to the ludicrous situation where re-appointed skipper John Terry is being allowed to skip the game, leaving Gareth Barry (a fifth or sixth choice normally) as the captain for the game.
Barry wasn't even good enough to make the 18-man squad against Wales, yet here he is captaining the side in the very next game.
Capello will argue the game will give him the chance to look at younger players for the future, but he sees them in the Premier League every week anyway, he has had the chance to run the rule over them in training and he doesn't have a long term future anyway.
No doubt the likes of Matt Jarvis and Andy Carroll will be given chances in this game, but with the squad so depleted, it should be classed as a B team game.
It is a con to fans who bought tickets in the thinking they would be seeing the likes of Wayne Rooney, John Terry and Ashley Cole, leading to the game becoming a 90,000 sell-out.
It is a con to the 21,000 Ghana fans who have paid for tickets and flights to see their team come up against some of the best players in the world.
Fans should have been made aware well in advance of Capello's plans to rest players.
The FA is also on a collision course with clubs over preferential treatment.
For example, Wayne Rooney has been allowed to return to Manchester United, leaving him a full week to recover in time for Saturday's lunchtime game against West Ham.
Yet West Ham's key man, Scott Parker, played 90 minutes in Wales and is expected to play the majority of the Ghana game. Where is the fairness there?
The game is a pointless exercise, with nothing riding on the result.
It will all end in tears.
FIFA's presidential candidate Mohammed Bin Hammam has stated that should he become president, he intends to increase the number of friendlies to maximise profit.
Sepp Blatter needs to go, and Bin Hammam has spoke a lot of sense, but the idea to increase friendlies is ludicrous.
There are already too many as there is, even the players seem to see them as something of a chore.
One friendly every now and again is not too bad, for instance when the squad haven't been together for a while and need to blend as a team.
But England have just recently played a friendly against Denmark and are on the back of a qualifier with Wales, so there is no need for this game to be played now.
If Capello sees the game as a chance to give squad players a chance, then clearly he doesn't see those players as good enough for the first-team yet.
So let them develop with their clubs rather than play them in meaningless games. They will learn very little from them.
One thing I read which surprised me this week was that Capello hasn't been to watch a game in the north-east since 2009, only seeing one game there in four years.
That is despite the region having two clubs who have consistently been in the top 10 this season with some very talented English players.
Yes, Capello called up Sunderland's Jordan Henderson and the then-Newcastle striker Andy Carroll against France, and Danny Welbeck for this game, but the fact that he is not even willing to go and see them in action is lazy.
It's like he can't be bothered to go that far north, but journeys like that would show he is still fully committed to the role.
Every decision he takes now makes him look more like a clown.
I support his decision to re-appoint John Terry as skipper, but the way he has handled the situation is farcical.
He should have talked to Rio Ferdinand about it before anyone else, but he seems to underestimate how much captaining England means to players.
The fact he spoke to vice-captain Steven Gerrard about it is a real kick in the teeth for Ferdinand, who has done nothing wrong except for being injured.
His command of the English language seems to be deteriorating rather than improving, as he seems to be counting down the days to the end of his contract.
And now his decision to allow Terry to skip the Ghana game is another mindless one.
If he wants young players to learn from the experience of international football, they need the England captain to help them along during the game.
Playing alongside Terry would at least give them some sort of idea about what it's like to play for England.
But they will be led out by Gareth Barry, who is nowhere near one of the first choices for a central-midfield position.
The experience will leave them more confused than anything else.
Capello has dug himself even deeper into a hole and only winning EURO 2012 will save his reputation now.
The day Harry Redknapp takes over can't come soon enough.
There was a certain amount of inevitability when Sri Lanka knocked England out of the cricket World Cup.
England didn't play well throughout the tournament, and it never seemed likely to change when facing the Sri Lankans in their own back yard.
To win big games like this, big performers have to stand up and be counted.
But England's big-time players, who would have relished an occasion like this, were sat at home.
The likes of Stuart Broad and Kevin Pietersen were sorely missed as England went out with a whimper.
They limped through the group stages despite defeats to minnows Ireland and Bangladesh, never once showing how good they can be with bat and ball combined.
The players were clearly jaded from an awfully long winter, with the majority of the squad having left for Australia in early-November and only spending less than a week at home since.
The one-day series in Australia should have been cut to three games at the most to allow players to recuperate in time for the World Cup, but once again the organisers have been left with egg on their faces.
Not only were the players too tired to play in a major tournament, but the sheer amount of cricket had led to critical injuries.
The likes of Broad, Pietersen and then Ajmal Shazhad during the tournament had simply been away from home too long, clocked up too many air miles and played too much cricket.
Michael Yardy's withdrawal with depression said it all.
Yes, the players are paid handsomely to do a job they love.
But being away from your family for months on end must be terribly difficult and that, coupled with the mental exhaustion which came with winning the Ashes, led to an under-motivated squad who couldn't wait to get home.
A lot of people have laid some blame with Jonathan Trott's slow batting style for England's defeat.
But Trott had to play this way due to the incompetence of his fellow batsmen.
He knew he had to bat through innings to ensure England got some sort of total on the board, and without him, it could have been complete embarrassment with England consistently bowled out for around 150.
He was the main reason England made it out of the group stage and is one of the players who can be proud of himself: he overcame the mental exhaustion and kept churning out the runs.
In truth, England are a poor one-day side in comparison to test cricket.
But there have been some great improvements in the last year or two, with the showings in the pre-tournament series against Australia and World Cup not a true reflection of how good they are.
2009's Champions Trophy showed how good England can be.
They showed a new brand of attacking cricket, alien to most England-watchers.
Eoin Morgan, in particular, took the attack to the opposition and the bowling unit worked well together as England reached the semi-finals.
But the tiredness of the players and injuries to key men curtailed any chance England had of replicating such performances.
Andrew Strauss, in particular, looked clueless at times. And who can blame him having captained England through the mentally-draining five-test Ashes series?
His indecisiveness and lack of ideas quickly spread to the bowlers, who seemed to have no plan, especially against Sri Lanka, of how to get the batsmen out.
This also spread to the batsmen, who got gradually poorer as the tournament went on and were only bailed out by Trott and, at times, Morgan.
England had a lot of luck on their side in the group stage, for instance in their improbable defending of low totals against South Africa and the West Indies, but ran out of luck against Sri Lanka.
They never troubled their batsmen once and looked like rabbits caught in the headlights when batting.
Credit must go, however, to Sri Lanka, as they look an excellent side.
The superb bowling talents of Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis would trouble any batsmen, while the likes of Mahela Jayawardene in the middle order are imperious in full flow.
But their batting performance against England was all about two men: Tillakaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga, who both scored unbeaten centuries as they coasted to a ten-wicket victory.
Both, particularly Dilshan, are truly world-class batsmen.
Dilshan first came to prominence in England fans' eyes at the ICC World T20 in England in 2009, where he was the player of the tournament.
He has developed into a top drawer performer and surely strikes fear into any bowling attack now.
Both bamboozled the England bowlers and never looked in any sort of trouble.
Chris Tremlett was perhaps the poorest of the bowlers.
He doesn't seem suited to the limited overs game and the selectors should only consider him for test matches in future.
His style is easy to attack and he has failed to perform in both his matches at this World Cup.
As for the batting line-up, it was foolish of the selectors not to pick Alastair Cook.
He was on the back of a superb performance in the Ashes and could have lit up this tournament.
All the time they were fumbling around looking for someone to open with Strauss, Cook was sitting at home, with his talents wasted.
England should build both the test and one-day team around him as he is a true talent, who showed last year in county cricket for Essex how effective he can be in the shorter forms of the game.
As for captain Strauss, he proved his value as a one-day batsman in this tournament and it would be a shame if he was to retire from that form of the game.
He did lack ideas in the field, though, and so the time may be right for him to give up the one-day captaincy to concentrate on batting.
This may undermine his position as test captain, which he should definitely keep, but England need Strauss still in one-day cricket as he is one of only a few players capable of scoring centuries.
Alistair Cook has been mentioned as a possible captaincy replacement for Strauss, but the selectors don't seem to see him as a one-day player so it will be interesting to see which way they go.
Someone like Stuart Broad would be an interesting choice but it is debatable whether he could keep his temperament in check to lead the side.
Cook is the obvious choice but first the selectors must admit they made a mistake in not taking him to the World Cup.
For the tournament, England's defeat will come as a major blow.
They have been great value as the side has been so unpredictable, with a great win over South Africa and thrilling tie with India going alongside surprising defeats to Ireland and Bangladesh.
All their matches, with the exception of the Sri Lanka game, were very close and they will be missed in the rest of the tournament.
The tournament really is wide open now.
India perhaps have the strongest side on paper, and have home advantage, so must be viewed as the favourites.
But they must beat Pakistan in the semi-final and that won't be an easy task.
They have been very impressive in this tournament and if Shahid Afridi can produce another magic spell of bowling or two, this World Cup could be Pakistan's.
Sri Lanka are also genuine contenders, with a great mix between youth and experience, batting and bowling.
New Zealand are the dark horses and surprise package of the tournament, but could cause another shock or two with the excellent Tim Southee, Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum on form.
India-Sri Lanka would be the perfect final for the tournament organisers, as they were the main two host nations.
If Sri Lanka do make it to Mumbai, they could struggle as they have only played under Sri Lankan conditions in this World Cup and would suddenly find the whole stadium against them.
As for England, this will go down as an opportunity missed.
With South Africa and Australia out, this tournament was up for grabs but they were just too tired and in truth not good enough to go all the way.
But it is not the fact they lost that will stick in fans' throats, it is the way they lost.
They went down without a fight and clueless, similarly to the England football team in the 2010 World Cup against Germany.
They must pick themselves up quickly and learn from this experience to improve as a team.
The gulf in class between England and Wales was clear for all to see as the away side cruised to victory at the Millenium Stadium.
England were never in any sort of problems, with the midfield duo of Jack Wilshere and Scott Parker particularly influential in the win.
Wilshere just never gives the ball away and won his midfield duel with Arsenal team-mate Aaron Ramsey hands-down.
New Wales captain Ramsey looked rusty, although he came into the game a bit more in the second half, and looks like he still needs more match-time to recover from his sickening leg break.
Looking at the Wales side, it's difficult to see which players would get anywhere near the England set-up.
Ramsey is a top talent and would be there or thereabouts, but after that, not many would even come into the thoughts of Fabio Capello.
Wayne Hennessey is a decent goalkeeper, but would not be anywhere near the England squad yet.
A few years ago, Craig Bellamy would have definitely been good enough for England, but not any more.
Age is catching up with him and it just seems a matter of time before he brings his international career to an end.
James Collins is a good defender but not in the same class as John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Dawson, Phil Jagielka or Gary Cahill.
Andy King and Joe Ledley are two who could become good players, but they found it difficult to cope with the experience and tactical nous of the England team.
Of course, had Gareth Bale been playing, it could have been a different story.
His lung-busting runs down the left would be a problem for any team, and would certainly have limited Glen Johnson's opportunities to get forward.
Bale is one player who would walk into the England side, but even he probably wouldn't have been enough to give Wales a chance in this game.
To be fair, it is very difficult for Wales to discover footballers.
There, rugby is neck-and-neck, if not more important, than football. Youngsters are more likely to go down the rugby route as they see the success the Welsh national rugby side has.
The size of the country is also not big enough to expect it to compete on the world stage.
There is simply not a big enough pool to choose from and therefore it will be very difficult for a Welsh side to ever qualify for another major championship.
As for England, there was nothing other than positives to take from this game.
John Terry's return as skipper was seamless; he didn't put a foot wrong all game and seemed to help keep the side concentrated and undaunted by the atmosphere.
Wilshere again showed why he is one of the most talked-about prospects in the world game with a display of immense passing and showed a great work-rate.
Fabio Capello should build his team around Wilshere now as his like don't come around too often.
Scott Parker vindicated Capello's decision to pick him ahead of Gareth Barry, and he now has an opportunity to make the position his own for at least the next two years.
He has waited a long time for this chance and is beginning to prove that he can reproduce his West Ham performances on the international stage.
Glen Johnson's pass which eventually led to the second goal was one of the highest quality.
He curved the ball with his right foot expertly into the path of Ashley Young, who in turn laid the ball on a plate to Darren Bent.
Johnson is starting to show some great form and seems to have been greatly influenced by the appointment of Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool.
He now plays left-back at Liverpool but his confidence is visibly growing and he is becoming a key member of the England side.
Frank Lampard had given England an early lead with a well-taken penalty, after James Collins bundled over Aston Villa team-mate Ashley Young in the box.
Young was impressive and is starting to take his club form onto the international stage.
As with Parker, he has waited a long time for this chance and is starting to prove his worth.
When Steven Gerrard returns to fitness, it would be a cop-out for Capello to recall him to the wing.
If Capello chooses to bring him back in, it should be a straight choice between Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
That would be for the good of the team and prove Capello doesn't pick on reputations, he picks on what he sees.
Wayne Rooney was committed in Cardiff but still seems to be lacking something.
To be fair, he was playing in a wide role which limits his ability enormously.
But he let his commitment spill over when he got booked for two needless, reckless challenges which were nothing short of cowardly.
He needs to eradicate this from his game, as one of these days he will be sent off and seriously injure an opponent if he is not careful.
But overall, England should take a lot of positives from this game.
England fans should be a lot more optimistic about the future now as this current crop looks like it could be moulded into a decent team.
But fans will take a lot of persuading before they are convinced this is a side capable of winning tournaments, as they have been promised a lot in the past and the team has never delivered.
2012 will be a big year and the team must perform in Poland and Ukraine to restore the fans' faith.
It was no surprise to see India defeat Australia on Thursday, bringing an end to Australia's run of three-successive World Cup triumphs.
Ricky Ponting's side seemed to be living in the past, with most of the team now over 30.
They will have still been good enough to beat most teams in the competition, though, as they proved in the group stage and in the pre-tournament series with England.
And that is why a lot of credit must go to India.
They dealt with the intense pressure of their home crowd to turn in a performance of the highest quality, squeezing Australia at times with the ball and finishing them off expertly with the bat.
They deserve a semi-final place, with a number of world-class performers sure to stand up and be counted the bigger the matches get.
That was certainly the case this time.
The spinners did a great job to restrict Australia's batsmen, with Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuvraj Singh both taking two wickets each. Zaheer Khan was also impressive as the bowling outfit did well to keep the score well below 300.
Yuvraj then went on to play the defining role with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 57, and is now the form batsman in the tournament.
He is showing the sort of form he produced against England a few years ago, and has become one of the great 'finishers' of the modern-day game.
He strikes a good balance between big-hitting and sensible batting, and will be a key figure if India are to go all the way.
His innings against Australia settled the team down, he guided them to victory. He showed a cool head under nerve-wracking circumstances.
Suresh Raina also helped finish the game well, ending not out on 34, vindicating the selectors' decision to pick him over Yusuf Pathan.
As with Yuvraj, he coped with the pressure and it seemed as though he had coped with situations like this for years.
Sachin Tendulkar was sublime as always, passing the 18,000 ODI run barrier on his way to 53.
In his last two innings, he has walked despite the umpire ruling he had not edged the ball, showing tremendous sportsmanship.
Replays proved inconclusive and so it showed how good a man Tendulkar is when he walked in such a vital match, at such an important moment.
He will not only go down as one of the great players the game has seen, but as one of the true gentlemen of the game.
He is a legend in every sense of the word and cricket fans should enjoy watching him now before he retires.
Talking of legends, it was good to see Ricky Ponting hit 104 in the Australian innings to silence his doubters.
He has had to put up with a lot of flak over the last few months, from Australia losing the Ashes to his lack of form with the bat to questions over his future as captain, but whatever is said, his batting shouldn't be brought into question.
A big score always seemed just around the corner for him and it is just a shame for him that his century counted for nothing in the end.
Whatever issues are raised with his captaincy, he has the talent to continue batting for years to come.
Taking the captaincy away from him may be best for everybody, allowing Ponting to concentrate on his batting and end his career in style.
There is still a lot of cricket in him yet and I'd be surprised if he is not still playing for Australia, captain or not, in the 2013 Ashes.
As for Australia as a whole, though, this defeat could spell the end of an era.
Ponting, at 36, is unlikely to make it to another World Cup and so Australia must find a new talisman.
Michael Clarke will be 33 at the next World Cup, possibly past his peak as a batsman.
Brad Haddin is unlikely to be there, so Australia will need a new wicketkeeper-batsman. Tim Paine has the potential but must prove it over a number of years before the next World Cup.
Brett Lee and Mike Hussey are also likely to have played their final World Cup game, meaning Australia must bring younger players through now so they have gained experience by the next World Cup.
They are not the side they once were and there seems to be a lack of talent coming through. Australian cricket could be set to enter the doldrums in a new age of cricket where the sub-continent looks set to dominate.
India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have all been impressive in this tournament, while Bangladesh showed some encouraging signs.
They could be the future of cricket for the next 10 years or so, and will be very hard to beat.
England are ahead of Australia in terms of bringing youngsters through at the moment, while South Africa are possibly the best side 'on paper' in the world, so the Australians must work hard to avoid slipping down the rankings in the coming years.
India's victory sets up a grudge game with fierce rivals Pakistan.
That will be a high-tension game and will give the Indian fans another chance to really get behind their team.
One of the striking features of this World Cup has been the fans, with the noise and passion in all three countries shining through.
The atmosphere they create has made this World Cup a truly memorable one, and it would be good for the tournament to have a host nation in the final.
India will not have it all their own way against Pakistan, though.
Shahid Afridi has been particularly impressive, the top wicket-taker in the tournament with 21. His wicket celebration, standing still with both arms in the air, has become the image of the World Cup.
They have rallied from their loss of Mohammad Amir, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif - after they were found guilty of spot-fixing and banned from cricket for five years - to become one of the real forces of this World Cup.
The loss of Amir, a great talent at just 18, would affect any team and they have done well to cope without him.
His absence is also a blow for cricket as he had the potential to become one of the greats. But he had to be punished and five years out of the game seems fair and offers him an opportunity to resume his career in his early-20s.
As for their quarter-final game, it was disappointing to see the way the West Indies capitulated against them.
As soon as a wicket fell, all of their heads began to drop. They had enough talent to go far in the tournament but did not have the mental strength to go all the way.
India-Pakistan will be a great semi-final and both would be worthy champions. Australia's run had to come to an end and India always looked the team most likely to end it. Now they must produce a similar display against their old rivals.
Afridi and co might have something to say about that.
Around this time every year, the same old statement is trotted out: the Championship is the closest and most exciting league in the world.
And this year is no different.
The quality of football in the Championship may not be to the standard of the Premier League, but it is more than decent and pulls in great crowds for a lower tier.
You just don't get that in other countries.
Lower league games in places like Spain and Italy are played in front of the proverbial man and his dog, but in England the passion of the fans trickles down the leagues, even into non-league.
And Championship fans are certainly getting value for money this year, with a whole clutch of teams vying for the second automatic promotion slot.
Queens Park Rangers seem to have it sewn up at the top.
They have been supreme all season and deserve to go up as champions.
Of course, a potential points deduction could yet push them back into the pack, but their exciting play this season warrants a place in the Premier League.
It would be interesting to see the mercurial talents of Adel Taarabt in the top-flight, he has been a joy to watch this season. He can be infuriating at times with his self-centred approach, but he has revelled in his captaincy role and fully deserves his Championship Player of the Year award.
This could be Neil Warnock's last chance in the Premier League. He has scores to settle from his time there with Sheffield United. QPR are surely promotion certainties.
As for the others, it's anyone's guess as to who will join the R's in the Premier League.
Everyone from Portsmouth (in 13th) upwards will feel they have a realistic chance of at least a play-off place.
Norwich are currently the team in the driving seat, sitting nine points behind QPR in second.
They have done tremendously well under the guidance of Paul Lambert, who looks destined for a long and glittering career in management.
He learned his trade at Livingston, Wycombe and Colchester before joining Norwich in 2009, who he led to promotion from League One just last season.
Grant Holt leads the line well, Wes Hoolahan is a proven goalscorer from midfield and Henri Lansbury has done excellently since joining on loan from Arsenal, so they look well set for the rest of the season.
Like a lot of their Championship rivals, they are very well supported, filling out Carrow Road every week.
Most football fans enjoyed seeing them in the Premier League in 2004/05, with Delia Smith's on-pitch rant a particular highlight, and it would be nice to see them return to the top-flight with their colour and enthusiasm.
However, successive promotions are very difficult to achieve, and the worry for Norwich fans must be that they will run out of steam.
Swansea, in third, are just one point behind the Canaries.
Not many people predicted them to be so high up the table this term, following the departure of manager Paulo Sousa to Leicester, and so Brendan Rodgers and his side have done a brilliant job in pushing the club close to the Premier League.
Rodgers had to rebuild his reputation at the Liberty Stadium after a rocky spell at Reading, and has done so brilliantly.
He had to solve Swansea's goalscoring problem, and his done this with the help of ex-Chelsea man Scott Sinclair.
Sinclair, who worked with Rodgers when he was Chelsea's reserve team manager, has scored 22 goals so far this season and is finally living up to his reputation.
The goals of Sinclair will be crucial in the Swans' run-in - if he continues to score consistently, they will be there or thereabouts. But even a play-off place would be an achievement for them after their disappointment of missing out last season.
Swansea's great rivals, Cardiff, are three points further back in fourth and the feeling is they must gain promotion this season to realise their potential.
They have fallen just short for a number of years now, and failure to reach the top-flight this year could spell the end of Dave Jones' spell there.
He has done a terrific job, though, consistently finishing in the top 10, reaching an FA Cup final and last year's play-off final, but they need to take that extra step now.
They have some Premier League-class players, like Craig Bellamy, Peter Whittingham and Jay Bothroyd, who should be playing Premier League football next season regardless of whether Cardiff gain promotion.
The sky is the limit for any Welsh side who reach the Premier League, and the Bluebirds must make sure they get there before their great rivals or risk being left behind.
Two points further back are Leeds, looking for back-to-back promotions like Norwich.
Simon Grayson, a born-and-bred Leeds fan, knows what the club means to its supporters and has confirmed his status as one of the top young English managers with his side's fantastic display this season.
They are a cavalier team, scoring plenty but weak at the back.
Luciano Becchio has 17 goals this season, and is ably assisted by talents such as Jonny Howson, Sanchez Watt and Max Gradel, but the team concede almost as many as they score and must tighten up at the back if they are to go up.
It has been a long road to recovery for them since relegation from the Premier League in 2003/04, but it looks like this could be their year.
It's been even longer out of the top-flight for Nottingham Forest, who were relegated in 1998/99.
They are one point further back, but have struggled lately after looking well-set for promotion.
Billy Davies insists his side are not good enough for the Premier League yet, but he is fooling nobody.
Experienced heads like Robert Earnshaw, talents like Lewis McGugan and a top goalkeeper in Lee Camp are more than ready to test themselves at the highest level, and they should be backing themselves for a real push at automatic promotion.
They are seven points off Norwich, but a decent run to the end of the season should put them right in the picture.
Famous teams like Leeds and Forest deserve a place in the Premier League for their history and great fanbase, these are the sort of clubs the Premier League really needs.
They would both guarantee sell-outs every week and would more than add to the 'product'.
Reading in 7th, three points behind Forest, all the way to Portsmouth in 13th, six points behind Forest, all have a chance of a play-off place with a late surge similar to Blackpool's last year.
Particular mention should go to Burnley in 8th, who have bounced back from relegation and a poor start to force themselves into contention under Eddie Howe.
Howe, in his early-thirties, looks destined for a future in the top-flight, and it is not out of the question he could be there with Burnley next season.
There is a similar story at Hull (10th) and Portsmouth (13th), who have recovered from relegation and shocking starts under Nigel Pearson and Steve Cotterill respectively.
Both are outsiders for a play-off place, but their top-flight experience may leapfrog them into contention.
Sven Goran Eriksson's Leicester are still hovering, they look like the team to watch in 11th.
The likes of Yakubu, Andy King and Darius Vassell, coupled with the likes of Kyle Naughton and Sol Bamba, could fire them to the play-offs. If they get there, they would be very hard to beat.
A final mention should be given to Millwall, currently six points off a play-off place in 12th.
Similarly to Norwich and Leeds, they are looking for back-to-back promotions under Kenny Jackett.
This shows how strong League One is, and offers hope to the likes of Brighton, Southampton and Huddersfield should they win promotion this year.
More teams could come out of the woodwork to challenge, although it looks likely all from 14th downwards should concentrate on preserving their Championship status rather than gunning for promotion.
QPR are surely already there, and I think Nottingham Forest will be the late runners to clinch an automatic place.
Their experience from last year's promotion race should stand them in good stead as this season draws to a close.
Leeds, Norwich, Swansea and Cardiff should take play-off places, and it really is a lottery from there.
Any of those would be welcome additions to the Premier League but Yorkshire needs a Premier League club and Leeds would be perfect in that sense. Their fans deserve top-flight football as a reward for sticking with their team through their dark period in League One.
A trip to Wembley to seal promotion would be the perfect end for their period in the doldrums and it would be great to see them back in the Premier League.
Whatever happens, there are sure to be twists and turns along the way. This is the Championship, after all.
Shay Given has been the Premier League's most consistent goalkeeper over the past ten years.
Some may say he is still the number one goalkeeper in English football.
So to be elbowed out of the picture by Manchester City shows a complete lack of respect for a truly world-class stopper.
Joe Hart is a top young keeper. But is he better than Given? I don't think so.
Hart, given time, will become one of the Premier League's top keepers, but Given IS one of the league's top keepers and does not deserve to be sidelined like he is.
It's not just the fact that Hart is starting the Premier League games.
It's that Given hasn't even had a look in in the cup competitions or the Europa League.
He has played one game all season, and that was in the Carling Cup.
Joe Hart has made a number of blunders this season and yet it seems he is a player Roberto Mancini sees as 'untouchable'.
To act like that when a goalkeeper like Given is sitting kicking his heels on the bench is plain stupid.
He was one of the lynchpins of a Newcastle side that reached the Champions League twice, and was also one of the main reasons Newcastle didn't get relegated before they did.
As soon as he left, Newcastle slipped down the league and into the Championship.
With Given between the sticks, who knows what might have happened? Given was so influential that it is fair to say with him in goal, relegation may never have happened.
He is 34 years old now, still a great age for a goalkeeper.
He is a tremendous shot-stopper, has good command of his area and is a calming influence on the rest of his team.
The mistakes which blighted his early career are behind him now, you rarely see a mistake from him any more.
He is being wasted by City, where Mancini has seemingly been influenced by Hart's international career with England. Fabio Capello obviously wants Hart to play and so Mancini is giving his fellow countryman his wish.
But for all the talent Hart possesses, he is still not in the same league as Given.
Any club in need of a goalkeeper would be silly not to go for Given.
Arsenal, for all the trouble they have had with keepers, should have signed him in January. It really is a no-brainer.
City wouldn't let him go to their rivals, but Given would be the ideal replacement for Edwin van der Sar at Manchester United when he retires in the summer.
Mancini doesn't want to let him go to another Premier League club.
That's fair enough, as Mancini knows how good Given is and that a decision to let him go to a rival could come back to haunt City.
But this isn't about City. It's about Given.
For years at Newcastle he forced Steve Harper, an excellent goalkeeper in his own right, to sit on the bench every game.
Now he is experiencing it at City and needs to get out of there before people forget how good he is.
City should let him go where he wants because he has showed incredible patience this season and has not publically voiced his discontent at the situation. He deserves better treatment than he is getting.
He would be the ideal solution to any club looking for a goalkeeper, and must leave City this summer to stop his career fizzling out.
City won't realise what they've got until they've lost him.
If signed by another Premier League club, he will show City exactly what they missed out on.
Last season his performances were, as always, faultless. City owed many of their wins to him, yet seem to have forgotten how good he is.
Hart should have been sent out on loan for another year, then the situation could have been re-assessed this summer.
Given is too good to be a number two and needs to leave City now.
There should be a massive queue for his signature.
On transfer deadline day, Liverpool fans mourned the loss of their star striker and welcomed Andy Carroll with open arms to replace him.
One deadline day deal which seemed to go almost un-noticed was that of Luis Suarez, Ajax's goalscoring king.
Much more emphasis was placed on Carroll, while Suarez was allowed to breeze through the Melwood doors and get on with his business.
This was a big benefit to him. The spotlight being on Carroll took away a huge burden from him, and he is reaping the benefits of that now.
But why was Carroll's transfer highlighted more than Suarez?
Carroll is a man with around a years' top-flight experience, whereas Suarez has scored goals consistently in Europe and was hugely influential in Uruguay's progression to the World Cup semi-finals.
This is a man who scored 81 goals in 110 games for Ajax, a man with real pedigree on the European and world stage.
He is the sort of player to get fans out of their seats, with the ability to do almost anything with the ball.
Ah, but that was in Holland, you say? Yes, but he is only 24 years old, has scored goals in the Champions League, looked good in the World Cup and generally looks like a very talented player.
This is not another Mateja Kezman, Afonso Alves or even Dirk Kuyt. This is a player who will live up to his reputation and continue to score goals, whatever league he is in.
Kezman and Alves failed spectacularly in England, magnifying the weakness of the Dutch league.
Dirk Kuyt has excelled, although in a different role to the one he was accustomed to in Holland.
He came to England as an out-and-out striker, a striker who was a consistent goalscorer in the Eredivisie.
He quickly became more known for his work-rate and wing play in the Premier League, and is now a firm favourite with Liverpool fans.
But this is not the job he was brought there to do. Suarez will not be another Kuyt, he will not become more of a winger. He is a genuine natural goalscorer.
He proved this in Sunday's 2-0 win at Sunderland.
Surrounded near the corner flag, he wriggled his way into the box and deceived the goalkeeper with a wonderful shot with the outside of his foot, a truly stunning piece of improvisation.
This lad was born to score goals, he can create something out of nothing and works hard for the team. What more can you ask for?
He joins a long line of Liverpool number 7s, which include his manager Kenny Dalglish and Kevin Keegan, and he is in a similar mould.
He will be a great player for Liverpool for years to come, the sort of player the Kop will love for his talent, enthusiasm and work-rate.
As for the other deadline day signing, Andy Carroll is clearly not match fit.
He looked laboured on Sunday and didn't commit to headers as he did in his time at Newcastle.
The Liverpool system does not play to his strengths.
They do not have out-and-out wingers who get the ball into the box at every opportunity, looking for his head.
Unless Liverpool buy some wingers, in the form of someone like Stewart Downing or Matthew Etherington, I can see him struggling.
£35m is a massive transfer fee to justify and he may just be feeling the pressure of that tag now.
He is a great talent but still relatively unproven at this level, and untested on a European stage.
There was a great fanfare when he arrived, mainly due to the fact he is the archetypal English centre forward many felt had gone out of the game.
But £35m? They only paid that because he was English.
If there was a foreign equivalent of Andy Carroll, the fee would be nearer the £10m-£15m bracket.
He has a lot to prove and must perform quickly to get the concentration on what he does on the pitch, rather than his price tag.
As for the man Liverpool lost, the question on everybody's lips at Anfield must now surely be, "Fernando who?"
Liverpool certainly aren't missing him, in fact he is more of a liability to Chelsea than anything else.
He too needs to perform quickly to justify his price tag but it just seems like his heart is not in it and as though he has lost half a yard of pace.
I think he has fell out of love with the game, I haven't seen him smile once since joining Chelsea.
If he doesn't start scoring quickly, the comparisons with Andriy Shevchenko are going to grow and that is a burden he could really do without.
He has been a world-class striker for a number of years but his reputation is taking a battering and he really needed to hit the ground running at Chelsea.
He hasn't done that, but there is still time for him to turn it around. One goal may be all it takes for the real Fernando Torres to shine through.
With every passing game though, the doubts continue to grow. In truth, this is no different to how he played in last summer's World Cup and the first half of this season.
Perhaps he has lost it.
As for Liverpool, the future looks bright with Suarez and Carroll. Torres is not being missed.
Carroll needs to be given time to show his quality, whereas the quality of Suarez is clear for all to see.
For decades the Kop have raved about 'King Kenny', now there could be a new crowning in the form of 'King Luis'.
I travelled to the Britannia Stadium for Newcastle's away game at Stoke on Saturday, and came away convinced United are embroiled in a relegation battle.
The similarities between this team and the one relegated two years ago are starting to become obvious, with the side showing little fight in the Potteries.
This, coupled with the sides at the bottom consistently picking up points means 36 points is simply not enough, two or three more wins are still needed.
Yes, home games against Wolves, Birmingham and West Brom represent great opportunities to pull out of danger, but failing to pick up maximum points from two of those games will leave United slipping towards the Championship for the second time in three seasons.
When Jose Enrique's name was announced in the starting line-up, I predicted he'd be withdrawn by half-time. Sure enough, 25 minutes in and he was off with a recurrence of his hamstring problem.
It was a reckless decision from Alan Pardew to play Enrique, as pushing dodgy hamstrings to the limit always ends in tears.
Enrique may now be a doubt for the clash with Wolves in two weeks, whereas if he had been left out of this game he would have surely got the injury out of his system.
As for the tactics, a 5-3-2/3-5-2 formation was decent thinking by Pardew but it was executed in completely the wrong way.
For one, the choice of playing Sol Campbell was always going to be questionable, given Steven Taylor was fit and on the bench.
An element of blame can be attached to him for Stoke's first three goals, and his performance was generally that of a player well past his best.
He was completely outmuscled and looked out of his depth at this stage of this career.
Yes, he may have done a good job for Arsenal last season.
But Arsenal do not come under as much pressure as Newcastle, and Campbell has now been found wanting on numerous occasions this season.
Another strange tactical decision by Pardew was to encourage the players to kick the ball long for Shola Ameobi and Peter Lovenkrands.
Shola had one of those days where he doesn't seem interested (although some may say he is like this every game unless United are playing Sunderland).
He is just not brave enough. This may be because he is not confident enough in the mask, but if that is the case, he shouldn't be playing.
But even if he was decent in the air, he would always likely be second best to Robert Huth and Ryan Shawcross.
They are immense at dealing with the long ball, but Newcastle just continued to fall into the trap of hitting it long.
Performances like this, where the lack of width in the team makes it easy for the opposition, makes the decision to let Wayne Routledge go out on loan all the more crazy.
Routledge isn't a great player, but he can make an impact. It would certainly be a better option than anything else the club has.
Shane Ferguson was the one shining light for Newcastle in a terrible afternoon, the teenager almost weaving his way to a goal and generally looking like he belongs at this level. But his display could not mask the performance of the team.
All in all, it was just a very negative game and one to strike fear and a sense of deja vu into all Newcastle fans.
The second goal summed it up.
Steve Harper, seemingly more interested in tying his shoelace, gifted the ball to Kenwyne Jones, with the ball eventually being crossed into the box. Campbell flapped at a header and left Jermaine Pennant with the easy task of stroking the ball into the net.
Campbell was also at fault for the first after Jonathan Walters got on the wrong side of him to glance in a header.
The third was an unstoppable piledriver of a free-kick from Danny Higginbotham and the fourth an excellent finish from Ricardo Fuller, with Newcastle lacking ideas similarly to games at Bolton, West Brom and Tottenham amongst others earlier in the season.
We've been here before. 2008/09 was a catastrophic season for the club, but it bounced back as it kept hold of key players.
But if relegation was to happen this season, the likes of Tiote, Enrique, Coloccini, Gutierrez and Barton would be out of the door in a flash. It would be ten times harder to bounce back this time.
Every decision made at boardroom level has destabalised the club.
The two main ones, to sack Chris Hughton and sell Andy Carroll, look all the more laughable now.
Hughton was doing a tremendous job, and if Mike Ashley's man Pardew delivers relegation, Newcastle will once again become the laughing stock of English football.
As for the Carroll sale, never in a million years should they have let him go.
£35m is a lot of money, but it won't be any good in the Championship.
Come to think of it, it will never be seen again anyway as Ashley is likely to hoover it up as he did with the fees for Shay Given and Charles N'Zogbia the last time the club was in the Premier League.
So Carroll wanted another new contract. The club should have given him it, you can't put a price on goals.
United look static up front, with the lazy Ameobi and aging Lovenkrands failing to deliver.
Leon Best has been decent, but it is saying something that Newcastle missed him on Saturday.
Six months ago, Best wasn't even getting a look in. Now, he is seemingly the key striker and that shows how far Newcastle have fallen in the last few months.
As for the support, the Toon Army were magnificent as always, sticking with the team throughout and even applauding them off at the end despite a woeful performance.
Stoke fans lived up to their loud reputation with some rousing renditions of 'Delilah' and 'Joey Barton, he hits like a girl', with their team giving them plenty to shout about.
As for me, this was my 16th away game as a Newcastle fan. The general away day experience at Stoke is very good, helped by the fact that the view of the pitch is excellent (my view can be seen in the picture at the top of this article), as well as a good home support who provide genuine competition in the singing stakes.
My away record reads as follows:
2003/04:
Man City: LOST 0-1
2004/05:
Man Utd: LOST 1-2 (Yes, that was the game when Rooney scored THAT goal)
2005/06:
Everton: LOST 0-1
2006/07:
Sheffield United: WON 2-1
2007/08:
Blackburn: LOST 1-3
Everton: LOST 1-3
2008/09:
Middlesbrough: DREW 0-0
Blackburn: LOST 0-3
Hull: DREW 1-1
2009/10:
Barnsley: DREW 2-2
Peterborough: WON 3-2
2010/11:
Wolves: DREW 1-1
Man City: LOST 1-2
Bolton: LOST 1-5
Tottenham: LOST 0-2
Stoke: LOST 0-4
My luck will change one day. Or so I keep telling myself.
